AuthorJeffEyesRimmer Late last year the Spanish League La Liga signed a deal with the General Sports Authority of Saudi Arabia (GSA) and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF), the governing body for football there. It was a deal that seemed to go a bit under the radar at the time but with the transfer window in January now open this deal has been thrust into the spotlight a bit more. A total of nine Saudi Arabian players have been loaned to Spanish clubs all within the space of a few days (so far). So what was this deal? A lack of transparency is a major issue in football at the moment and there was little information provided that I could find on this deal as well. However, on the face of it the deal allowed La Liga to set up academies in Saudi Arabia under its brand. The academies are intended to provide young Saudi players with better training methods and to help coaches across the country improve their skills. The aim is to improve the players coming out of that part of the world that will eventually make it to the national team of Saudi Arabia. The SAFF has committed to growing football in the country further, especially when it is the most popular sport and this is seen as a good way of doing so. This seems like a great program by La Liga, quite charitable to set up academies in another country with the aim to improve their youth players but not quite. La Liga is the most watched league in the Saudi Arabia and more broadly in the Middle East so it’s a potential money spinning exercise for the league that is desperately trying to find ways to compete with the English Premier League. No dollar figure has been stated though, so it is difficult to gauge whether this will help bridge the gap. With the little information available it was interesting this week to find out that nine national Saudi Arabian players have been loaned to various clubs across the 1st and 2nd divisions in Spain. Some well-known clubs have taken players on as well, Villarreal have signed Salmam Al Dawsari, 26, from Al Hilal, while 23-year-old Fahad Al Muwallad has joined Levante from Al Ittihad. Leganes has also taken Yahia Al Shehri, 27, on loan from Al Nasr. Sporting Gijon, Numancia, Rayo Vallecano and Real Valladolid are the other clubs that have taken players too.
Again I could not find any information on whether this was part of the deal La Liga struck and so I find it very odd that La Liga and clubs would agree to this as part of a deal. I am not the only one that has questioned this as well. Spain's footballers' union (AFE) said "This new business model prioritises the economic aspect over the sporting one". This agreement impedes the development of young footballers and represents an obstacle to the opportunities for the youth academy, which isn't always accorded this type of opportunity," It opens up a range of questions for me, I wonder if these clubs truly wanted to sign these players and in the end the players that might end up losing out is the young Spanish players at those clubs? Is it a requirement on these clubs to play these players? Are they of a quality that would get into these teams? They are all internationals but are they good enough for La Liga? Are the managers of those clubs happy with players being given to them in this way? I also wonder what the fans of these clubs think (so let us know if you support any of these sides). On the face of it to me the SAFF have the better end of the deal here and in a rush to try to bring in some extra cash to compete with the English Premier League the La Liga haven’t thought about the consequences. Will be keeping an eye on this moving forward to see if any further info is provided. What are your thoughts? |
AuthorsJust Some Fans Writing About Football. Archives
June 2018
Categories
All
|